Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls – the moment is finally here!
You’ve heard his name a number of times throughout this Blog, and now it’s finally time to talk about the man who not only makes the holiday season so wonderful, but also the man that is my all-time favorite singer, and a Billboard charting legend during WWII, the era of 50s pop, and even after!
Today, here on 50s tunes with Steve we will be diving into the life of the one and only, Mr. Perry Como – arguably the friendliest, kindest, and most-wonderful man to ever live. And while I’ve obviously, never met Perry as he died when I was only a year old, I can tell you that in studying his life there truly is no-one better than him!
Some may consider “Mr. C!” to be a little slow sometimes, but I assure you – even during an era when the Rock N Rollers were dominating the jukeboxes, Como still managed to weasel his way into the hearts of the young and old alike, and he was arguably one of the few pop artists who was able to do this.
As you go through the post, remember to click on some of the songs as I have imbedded links that will take you to them.
Early Life and Hits of the 1940s
Perry Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on May 18th, 1912, by the name Pierino Ronald Como – of course, “Perry” looks a lot cleaner on an album cover.
He was born to Italian American immigrants and was the 7th of 13 children in the Como family.
Como was raised a staunch Roman-Catholic and carried his faith with him his entire life.
In many ways his deep faith in the Church has impacted me in my life. Knowing that a man, as good and decent as Mr. Como, believed strongly in God and the Catholic Church has helped guide me toward the religion and deepened my faith.
At age 11 Perry would work cutting hair at a barbershop, eventually opening one of his own – a common occupation for Italians at this time.
Perry became a very successful barber in Pennsylvania and genuinely enjoyed cutting hair.
Unlike many of the crooners I’ve discussed in prior posts (Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra) Perry didn’t have four messy marriages, but instead only one.
In 1933 he married his high school sweetheart, Roselle Belline who he later went on to have 3 children with. 1 that was conceived by them and 2 that were adopted.
Even though Perry was an excellent barber, God had more than cutting hair in store for the young soon-to-be super-star.
Como had always had a knack for singing, and in the 1930s he sang for 2 separate band leaders – Freddy Carlone and Ted Weems – leaving the barber business behind.
While he saw great success singing with both bands - although more so with Ted Weems - after the birth of his son in 1940, Como walked away from singing in hopes of opening his own barbershop once again and settling down with his family.
The travel that came with performing was especially a burden for Perry.
After leaving the bands and returning home to Canonsburg with his family, Como’s phone was ringing off the hook with singing contracts left and right.
Perry wanted to stay put, he didn’t want to travel with his child, and that’s when the right offer came swinging in his direction.
Como was offered his own 15-minute radio broadcast with CBS which was great because he didn’t have to travel like he would with a band.
On March 12th, 1943, Perry made his radio debut, and he was a smash success.
Soon after, he scored a deal with the RCA Victor recording label.
Never have I seen a man so lucky as Mr. Como. All he wanted to do was be a father and a local barber, but now fame was smacking him in the face.
By 1944 Como was released from his contract with CBS and signed a new deal with NBC, performing on a show called “The Chesterfield Supper Club” which promoted Chesterfield cigarettes, where Perry was singing with none other than the remarkable, Jo Stafford!
I know, her name shows up quite a bit. What can I say – the woman worked with the best of the best.
Meanwhile he also began seeing massive success with a few hit recordings, most notably – “Long Ago (and Far Away)” in 1944, “Temptation” in 1945, which is a song that was requested at nearly all of his concerts, as well as “If I Loved You,” “Till the End of Time,” which was a #1 record, “I’m Gonna Love That Gal,” and “Dig You Later (A Hubba Hubba Hubba),” all that same year.
Here's a clip of Como perfroming his 1945 hit "Till the End of Time!"
The chart hits didn’t stop there though! Perry continued his hit reign well into the late 1940s.
In 1946 he scored 2 #1 records – “Prisoner of Love” and “Surrender.”
In 1947 he scored another #1 hit with “Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep).”
But wait – there’s more!
Como also scored 2 #2 records in 1947 – “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” and “I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now.”
By 1948, audiences around the country were familiar with Como not only through his hit records, but now also through his new television appearances on NBC as the network elected to televise Perry singing in the radio studio for the “Chesterfield Supper Club” program.
This was a whole new concept, but Mr. C remained cool. He didn’t act or try to be funny. He just took the new idea for what it was and connected with his audiences the best way he could, and that was by simply being himself.
The 50s, Rock N Roll, and King of the Charts
By 1950 the 15-minute “Chesterfield Supper Club” program had ended, and Como moved his sponsor back to CBS until 1955 when he would eventually get his own hour-long program titled “The Perry Como Show.”
Before I jump too far ahead though, I think it’s important to note that in the early 50s Mr. Como ran into a bit of a dilemma – he was far older than many of the new acts coming onto the musical recording scene, and his audiences were well aware.
Teresa Brewer, Patti Page, and Eddie Fisher, who are all artists I have covered on this Blog, were far younger – all in their 20s. Como was borderline 40 years old by the beginning of the decade, and his sweet and tender ballads were beginning to get a little boring for his audience.
In all fairness he did have a few good hits between 1950 and 1951 including - “Hoop-Dee-Doo,” “A Bushel and a Peck,” “You’re Just in Love,” and a #1 record, “If,” but that was it out of more than 11 songs he recorded.
The “gold records,” as they say, were not exactly rolling in the way they were before.
In 1952 one of RCA Victors top recording stars and young crooner, Eddie Fisher was hitting big with younger audiences, so the label figured it might be a good idea for Mr. C to record a few duets with him to help boost Perry’s popularity.
Fisher and Como recorded “Maybe” and “Watermelon Weather” together. A two-sided record which only saw moderate success.
Things were looking mighty bleak for Como, until his producers brought him a song that he practically hated. It was titled – “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” and it was initially a country song that was a big hit for country and western singer, Slim Willet.
RCA figured the song could be turned into a pop record and they saw Como as the guy to sing it. But Perry was certainly hesitant. He felt the meter and tempo were off, but they insisted, and with a career under siege, Perry had no choice but to comply.
The song was recorded in 1952 and released in 1953 selling over 2 million copies, going to #9 on Billboard's year-end top 30 singles of 1953, and became his biggest success to date.
Watch this little sketch Perry did on his show, perfroming "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes!"
Como was wrong, but he was certainly pleased with the results.
Pop artists on the scene were getting nervous as the king of the charts was beginning to make his return.
That same year Perry had a few more hits including – “Wild Horses,” “Say You’re Mine Again,” “My One and Only Heart,” and “No Other Love” which became a #1 record and would sit just above “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes” on the Billboard’s year-end singles chart, landing in the #8 position.
From here on out Perry would take back his lead on the music charts, and in 1954 that became evident when he scored another #1 record titled “Wanted,” which went all the way to #2 on Billboard’s year-end singles of 1954.
Take a listen here in this short clip -
This was the same year Como would also record his Italian-favorite record, “Papa Loves Mambo,” a #4 hit, as well as his well-known Christmas single “(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays.”
By 1955 the Chesterfield show had ended, and Perry was back with NBC airing his own televised program.
This was also the same year Rock N Roll started to take its prominent place on the music charts.
Rock N Roll was certainly different than the modern-day popular music, and Como knew it was going to be a battle for the charts, but he had an advantage on all of his competition – the ability to sing his songs live on television on his show – a place where his recordings would get more exposure while his competition would be forced to try and get exposure strictly through the radio.
Perry recorded his share of “Rock N Roll” songs, with a pop twist of course and he had great success with records like “Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)” and “Tina Marie,” but he didn’t stop recording “popular songs” either.
In 1955 he recorded a duet with female artist Jaye P. Morgan on a song titled “Chee Chee-Oo Chee (Sang the Little Bird)” which was recorded by a number of artists at this time, but the most successful version was by the two of them.
Come 1956, Perry recorded 4 very well charting songs – “More,” “Glendora,” “Juke Box Baby,” and a frivolous song titled “Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)” which went all the way to #1.
Perry wasn’t too fond of recording songs like “Hot Diggity,” but he knew they would be big hits, so he suffered through it – although I hate saying suffered because based on this clip you’re about to watch, I think he enjoyed it a little bit!
Take a listen to this fun song here on Perry's show - 1956
1957 wasn’t as big a year for Perry in terms of chart hits, but he did have 1 #1 record that would end up ousting Elvis Presley’s, “Jailhouse Rock,” and Sam Cooke’s, “You Send Me.” The song was titled “Round And Round” and it would reach #10 on Billboard’s year-end
singles of 1957.
Take a listen
Como had a few other fair charting songs this year including – “The Girl with the Golden Braids,” “Ivy Rose,” and a song that I consider to be Rock N Roll - “Just Born (To Be Your Baby).”
Give it a listen and decide for yourself if this classifies as a Rock N Roll song!
In 1958 Como recorded a two-sided single with 2 hit songs.
Normally when a single was released, it is released with the idea that only the “A-Side” of the record will hit big, but in this case both songs were a massive success.
The A-side of the record was a song called “Catch A Falling Star” – a song that would go to #1 in the United States.
The B-side of the record was a song called “Magic Moments” which would go to #1 in the United Kingdom.
Fun fact - “Catch A Falling Star” was the first song to become a Gold Record awarded to an artist by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Take a listen to Perry at a concert for BBC many years later!
This same year, Perry recorded his last successful Rock N Roll song – “Kewpie Doll” which charted at #6.
He had a few minor chart hits in 1958 as well, but nothing super significant.
With the shift in the music industry and the fact that he would be approaching the 50-year-old age mark in only a few more years, Como remained a favorite of the easy-listeners, but his popular music days were coming to an end.
The 60s, Christmas Specials and Onward
By the beginning of the 60s, Perry was still appearing regularly on television, continuing to use his show as an outlet to promote his songs.
Come 1968, Como ended the program and retired from appearing weekly on television. However, he did continue airing Christmas specials. Something he tried to incorporate into his show since the very beginning was Christmas songs and doing holiday specials.
Retirement gave him a chance to focus on the specials which he would air from different countries, and in the mid-70s he recorded multiple. Some of the countries he aired from include Austria and France, as well as one from the Holy Land.
Perry didn’t give up recording songs forever though. He never really stopped actually and had 2 #1 hits in his later years. “It’s Impossible” in 1970, and “And I Love You So” in 1973.
Right up until the mid-1990s Como continued appearing live in concert.
He died in 2001 in his sleep – a peaceful man who died peacefully.
My friends, I leave you with a medley of Perry singing some of his biggest hit records. Give it a watch and as always, thank you for reading!
This is your 50s music fanatic Steven B. – Signing off
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